Ostland Landwehr
The Ostland Landwehr (Luthorian: Ostland Defense Force) is the unified armed forces of Ostland. Ostland's military is made up of the Landwehr (Army), Marine (Navy and naval aviation forces) and the Luftwaffe (Air forces). Ostland, according to Gath Defense Collective and the Zardic Institute of International Relations is a "middle power" (military and geopolitical status) and an "average" economic power. The Ostland Landwehr is commanded by the "Supreme Commander-in-Chief" (Dundorfian: Oberbefehlshaber) who is the sitting Grand Duke of Ostland, currently Florian II of the House of Schwarzhelm-Oberlander. Underneath the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is the Chief of the General Staff (Dundorfian: Landwehr Generalstab) which is modeled off the Dorvish General Staff system and heavily influenced by them. The Chief of the General Staff was traditionally the Minister of Defense or the State Secretary of Defense until April, 4617 when the Ministry of Defense was abolished and placed totally underneath the control of the General Staff. Each branch is commanded by a Commander-in-Chief (Dundorfian: Befehlshaber) who is appointed by the Grand Duke with the recommendations of the Chief of the General Staff. The most important officer aside from the Supreme Commander, the Chief of the General Staff and the respective commanders-in-chief is the Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff. The Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff is responsible for all operational planning of the Landwehr. Ostland's forces are also bolstered by the semi-independent Tōgun (literally "Eastern Army") which belongs to the Touryou State; a semi-autonomous enclave of Kunihito people in southern Ostland. The Tōgun is underneath operational control of the Landwehr General Staff but is administratively independent. Overview Ostland maintained a large portion of Hulstrian troops during its time as one of the Crownlands of Hulstria. When Ostland gained its independence it kept a large portion of the older Hulstrian Navy that had resided as a means to control the Sea of Carina, the large sea in the center of Dovani. Ostland, despite its relatively limited economic prosperity, is one of the stronger colonies due to the large presence of Hulstrian loyalist following the surge in Kunihito nationalism in Hulstria. Ostland's military is comprised of two primary branches, the Ostland Landwehr, which is responsible for all land operations and the Ostland Marine, which is responsible for all sea operations and coastal operations. Air and air defense operations are split equally between the two branches with the largest component being apart of the Landwehr. The Landwehr is augmented by the Sturmabteilung (Luthorian: Storm Battalion) which shares a name with the National Socialist Movement's original paramilitary that founded a Freikorp (Luthorian: Free Corps) movement in Ostland following the Collapse of the Dundorfian Reich period of history. The Sturmabteilung is technically a branch of the Landwehr, which is both the name of the ground combat operational force and the name of the entire military itself. The Sturmabteilung are the special forces of Ostland and report directly to the State President though they are de jure apart of the command structure. The Ostland Landwehr is augmented by the presence of "militia" known as the Freikorp although technically outlawed, the law is never enforced. The Freikorp draws its name from the same groups that fought during the Kulturkampf period of the Dundorfian Reich. The Freikorps tend to be more radical than their Landwehr counter-parts and are traditionally a very loyal, poor, supporter and paramilitary base for the government of Ostland. The Freikorps are traditionally assigned to tasks that might potentially be less savory for the Landwehr to handle. The Freikorps are technically private military groups that in theory, do not operate under government supervision. Command and control The Landwehr General Staff (Dundorfian: Landwehr Generalstab) is responsible for the command and control over the Ostland Landwehr and the Touryou State's "Eastern Army". The Ministry of Defense plays a secondary role in a civil function, as of recently the Minister of Defense has been the appointed Chief of Staff of the Landwehr General Staff which has brought the two closer together. The Landwehr General Staff follows the Dorvish-style of General Staff that many other countries, including Dundorf, Hulstria, Vanuku, and several others have followed. The Landwehr General Staff has multiple departments, none of which are as prominent as the Operations Department, which controls all operational planning of the Landwehr itself. Branches Landwehr Marine The Ostland Navy (Dundorfian: Ostland Marine) is responsible for maritime operations of the Ostland Landwehr. The Ostland Navy is headed by the Naval Warfare Command (Dundorfian: Seekriegsleitung), the Naval Warfare Command is charged with the overall operations of the Ostland Navy. Lead by the Chief of Naval Operations and assisted by the Chief of Staff of the Naval Command. Borrowing from the Dorvish Navy the Ostland Navy is divided into Navy Group Commands (Dundorfian: Marinegruppekommand) which are divided into Navy Group Command "North" (Dundorfian: Marinegruppenkommando Nord) and Navy Group Command "South" (Dundorfian: Marinegruppenkommando Süd). Each of these Navy Group Command's is headed by an appointed Navy Group Commander (Dundorfian: Marinegruppenkommandant) who is appointed by the Chief of Naval Operations of the Ostland Navy. The Ostland Navy maintains a separate structure for coastal and shore forces. The Ostland Navy's coastal and shore structure is primarily for administrative, resupply and support purposes as well as coastal defense and naval base defense. The Ostland Navy maintains several Navy Regional Commands which are responsible for the operation of the Ostland Navy bases, Navy Regional Commands are traditionally subordinate to Navy Group Commands and cover large geographical areas. These Navy Regional Commands are named after the naval bases where they are hosted. The Navy Regional Commands are primarily managed by the Marine Command Office and the General Navy Office. The Ostland Navy was originally a single fleet, however the addition of several new ships the Ostland Navy decided to divide into two fleets. The Sea of Carina Fleet and the Sovereign Sea Fleet. The coastal protection force was divided into a coastal defense fleet which controls all of the Type 143A Gepard-class fast attack craft. Sea of Carina Fleet *x2 Kordusian-class frigates: ONS Grand Duke Magnus (flagship), ONS Grand Duke Wilhelm I *x9 Zeno Morona-class frigates: ONS Grand Duke Ludwig II, ONS Grand Duke Friedrich I *x1 1 Wächtler-class destroyer: ONS Karsten Stoiber *x2 Merkanland-Nuchtmark-class frigates Sovereign Seat Fleet *x2 Kordusian-class frigates: ONS Grand Duke Ludwig I (flagship), ONS Grand Duke Wilhelm II *x9 Zeno Morona-class frigates *x2 Merkanland-Nuchtmark-class frigates Sturmabteilung The Sturmabteilung (Luthorian: Assault detachment) are the special forces of the Landwehr and are directly underneath the command and control of the Grand Duke of Ostland (with the consultation of the State Chancellor and the Chief of the General Staff). The Sturmabteilung are divided into 10 assault detachments of roughly 200 men each which are assigned to the regular Landwehr (ground foces) and 2 marine assault detachments. Sturmabteilung units are trained in a variety of methods, including airborne, amphibious, counter-intelligence, signals, and other special forces tactics. Equipment Ostland was primarily supplied through its former colonial owner of Hulstria, however the presence of Ostfirma has solidified Ostlands reputation with the Volksdundorfische Cultural Association and to a lesser degree Dorvik. The VDKA and many of its member have vacation homes in Ostland, which in it's northern parts are colder and in the southern portions is far more tropical and temperate. With the various changes in government from Dorvik, many Dorvish defense companies have re-located their business to Ostland where it has been generally more friendly to their regimes. The benefit to Ostland is that they are capable of producing equipment that is produced now in limited quantities in Dorvik. Domestic arms industry Dorvik, Dundorf, Hulstria and Gao-Soto and several other countries have at one point placed investment into Ostland's domestic arms industry. In the modern era Ostland can be found possessing much of the equipment that is found in the militaries of Dorvik, Dundorf, Hulstria and Gao-Soto and others. The Dorvish defense industry following the revolution in Dorvik in the mid 46th century saw many scientist, researchers and developers alongside their workers flee to the favorable government of Ostland in place of the radical, unstable socialist regime in Dorvik. Naval equipment Ostland retains much of its naval equipment from Hulstria's older stock that was left near Wolfsheim at Adlerhafen, a district of Wolfsheim. Ostland sponsored the creation of Eastern Shipyards (Hulstrian/Dundorfian: Östliche Werft) which produces a wide variety of both military and civilian ships and is a joint private-public venture. The Ostland Navy includes ships such as: *4 Kordusian-class frigates (OOC: German Sachsen-class frigate) - Locally produced under license from Dorvik *18 Zeno Morona-class frigate's (OOC: Oliver Hazard-Perry-class frigate) - Gifted from Zardugal and the Zardic Navy *1 Wächtler-class destroyer (named after Dundorfian Reichsmarine Admiral Ralf Wächtler, based on the Lütjens-class destroyer) *4 Merkanland-Nuchtmark-class frigates (based on the Bremen-class frigate) *~12 Type 143A Gepard-class fast attack craft *numerous support and smaller craft. Category:Ostland Category:Military